All Blog Posts Tagged 'love' - Atheist Nexus2017-08-18T05:21:41Zhttp://atheistnexus.org/profiles/blog/feed?tag=love&xn_auth=noborderlinetag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-17:2182797:BlogPost:27607632017-08-17T09:29:40.000ZPliniushttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/Plinius
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">I’m too attractive to borderliners, I think. For the second time in six months a borderliner started to scream at me and attacked me with verbal abuse.</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">I never suspect a new contact to be a borderliner, but I make room for someone new, give them my attention and listen to what they want to tell me. Most of the time I listen and I don’t talk…</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">I’m too attractive to borderliners, I think. For the second time in six months a borderliner started to scream at me and attacked me with verbal abuse.</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">I never suspect a new contact to be a borderliner, but I make room for someone new, give them my attention and listen to what they want to tell me. Most of the time I listen and I don’t talk very much. Borderliners like to talk about the unfair way life has treated them, but hell, everybody is in a bad patch now and then.</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">There comes a day that I want to talk about something, but there’s never time for it with a borderliner, they’re always running from one crisis into the next one and they need a lot of attention. On that day I think that there’s something unbalanced about this friendship, but the sun’s still shining…</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">And then one day I utter an opinion, my opinion. WHAT!? AN OPINION?! Without consulting the borderliner! Gross! Detestable! Horrible! You should be beheaded for that! And what’s that? CRITICISM!? You backstabber!</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">So I break the contact, because there’s nothing else a reasonable person can do. But I start to suspect my other contacts… who of you? And when? <span> </span>And I check the mirror; too kind, too patient, not dominant enough.. can I be different? Do I want that?</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3"> </font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><font face="Calibri" size="3">I’d love to have an early warning system for borderliners at this point, I’m quite fed up with their disgusting behaviour.</font></span></p>OH HOW I WISHtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-15:2182797:BlogPost:27604932017-08-15T14:42:03.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/fGvwos5dPD4124ugVi8aKgwtY0ioxpJye51cfXlQ*pEBBmcnlM5oLDVzYaIKTntHnL9zAI9bK050DtkEwN3Iz5xhcX1MTaCb/photoessaybychrisgable.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/fGvwos5dPD4124ugVi8aKgwtY0ioxpJye51cfXlQ*pEBBmcnlM5oLDVzYaIKTntHnL9zAI9bK050DtkEwN3Iz5xhcX1MTaCb/photoessaybychrisgable.jpg?width=575" width="575"></img></a> Asides from the promotion of ignorance, the embrace of intolerance, the perpetuation of fantasy, the encouragement of external reliance, the insistence of basing thought on dogma rather than fact, abetting belief in ghosts, gremlins and ghouls, the blatant demotion of women and its continued history of…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/fGvwos5dPD4124ugVi8aKgwtY0ioxpJye51cfXlQ*pEBBmcnlM5oLDVzYaIKTntHnL9zAI9bK050DtkEwN3Iz5xhcX1MTaCb/photoessaybychrisgable.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/fGvwos5dPD4124ugVi8aKgwtY0ioxpJye51cfXlQ*pEBBmcnlM5oLDVzYaIKTntHnL9zAI9bK050DtkEwN3Iz5xhcX1MTaCb/photoessaybychrisgable.jpg?width=575" width="575" class="align-center"/></a>Asides from the promotion of ignorance, the embrace of intolerance, the perpetuation of fantasy, the encouragement of external reliance, the insistence of basing thought on dogma rather than fact, abetting belief in ghosts, gremlins and ghouls, the blatant demotion of women and its continued history of anti-progressive thinking are just a few things I have against Christianity.</p>
<p><b><i>I am anti-religion because of nearly everything it stands for and everyone or everything it stands with. It is far past time for its burial as it has outlived its usefulness.</i></b></p>
<p>Psychiatry of the religious persuasion may still offer misguided solace nearing medical malpractice. In reality, today’s psychiatrists and psychologists approach exhaustion trying to undo the mental chaos inflicted by religion and the desire for feel-good answers rather than the truth.</p>
<p>Sadly, when it comes to religion the country has a hands-off approach despite religion's demonstrated toxicity in the United States alone where it helped promote slavery, the slaughter of Native Americans with the idea of Manifest Destiny and its intolerable stances on female rights and homosexuality.</p>
<p>A look at statistics gathered by the Christian church shows religion's inability to alter human behavior. This is hardly news, but some prominent religious researchers seem surprised. Perhaps, their dismay comes because Christian adherents lie at the root of American problems. Simple math would reveal that in a country claiming 70%+ Christianity, that group would also be overrepresented in almost any activity, except immoral and illegal behavior, but that isn’t the case. The exact opposite is true.</p>
<p>Over 90% of American prisoners are Christians and based on demographics, that should be no surprise. Does that mean Christians have more felonious behavior? Of course not, such a conclusion is ridiculous. That 90% of prisoners at the very least shows religion’s failure to change primary behavior in any significant way but an unspoken correlation exists and it is one few religionists care to speak of and that is the low level of faith commitments. No one speaks of it but religion is little more than a ritualized social event. Most Americans claiming Christianity are little more than club members that don't even pay their dues. The fact is, fewer than 6% of Christians tithe and that was the story long before the current research began on the topic.</p>
<p>When is the last time God did anything of significance in this world? I've been here more than 50 years and I haven't seen a single thing and there have been plenty of opportunities like the Indian Ocean tsunami, hurricane Katrina, the World Trade Center terrorist attack and more but he hasn't been there even to accept the regular stream of undeserved accolades people insist on throwing his way despite his habitual absence and pitiful record of achievement. Interestingly, no one minds giving credit for their hard work to a being without enough courtesy to show up every century or so.</p>
<p>People who speak with God should consider talking with a psychiatrist because that is normal procedure when suffering aural hallucinations. I've been sick of religion countless years for no reason other than it offends my sensibilities in that it is irrational and shy to serious examination by even a child. It is the willful and knowing imposition of religion on the young that irritates most. It is the moral equivalent of brain-washing in the most literal sense.</p>
<p>Years ago in the midst of a heated argument, a woman shouted at me, "You're so damn rational!" At the time the comment only made the situation worse as I proved I could be just as irrational as the next person. Later I came to view the snide remark as an unintended compliment. I am a rational thinker and demonstrated the trait early in life but it never dawned on me that accounted for how I learned.</p>A new school year.tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-13:2182797:BlogPost:27603442017-08-13T21:10:04.000ZRhonda Boyerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RhondaBoyer949
<p>So, this year is a little more than half over. And, I decided it is time for a change. </p>
<p>The weight loss went well, and is still working out for me. Haven't gained any weight back, and have done things to make me healthier. Also, dropped a few additional pounds in the mean time.</p>
<p>I decided it was time for me to go back to school. I will be studying nutrition science. It sounds interesting to me. The healthier lifestyle made me decide this was a good career goal, so that's what I…</p>
<p>So, this year is a little more than half over. And, I decided it is time for a change. </p>
<p>The weight loss went well, and is still working out for me. Haven't gained any weight back, and have done things to make me healthier. Also, dropped a few additional pounds in the mean time.</p>
<p>I decided it was time for me to go back to school. I will be studying nutrition science. It sounds interesting to me. The healthier lifestyle made me decide this was a good career goal, so that's what I am going to do.</p>
<p>I haven't been on the Nexus for quite a while, because I have not had much to say as I was going through my decision process. I may not be on much in the near future, as I will probably be busy studying. I am not sure how this will all work, but I will try to update as I go.</p>
<p>Anyway, have a good day/good life! Be happy, if you can, and feel like it. Take care! See you all around! </p>Girls Trip/Dunkirk Movie Reviewstag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-13:2182797:BlogPost:27602362017-08-13T04:17:05.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p><b><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/uI6CCZiempNnLHr404valtCYCa*2Xfvh1o8f4SMxrby88C*tiaNc7OlpwrqYLNsdviDsiVemudyeyB-P3fKfW*VDqtR9Y*1h/GirlsTrip.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/uI6CCZiempNnLHr404valtCYCa*2Xfvh1o8f4SMxrby88C*tiaNc7OlpwrqYLNsdviDsiVemudyeyB-P3fKfW*VDqtR9Y*1h/GirlsTrip.jpg?width=500" width="500"></img></a> Girls Trip: Movie Review:</b></p>
<p>Where to start with this one is difficult. I was dragged to see it by my wife. Well, I’m glad she did. “Girls Trip” is an uproarious film filled with ridiculosity, nasty comedy and excellent performances by Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish.…</p>
<p><b><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/uI6CCZiempNnLHr404valtCYCa*2Xfvh1o8f4SMxrby88C*tiaNc7OlpwrqYLNsdviDsiVemudyeyB-P3fKfW*VDqtR9Y*1h/GirlsTrip.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/uI6CCZiempNnLHr404valtCYCa*2Xfvh1o8f4SMxrby88C*tiaNc7OlpwrqYLNsdviDsiVemudyeyB-P3fKfW*VDqtR9Y*1h/GirlsTrip.jpg?width=500" width="500" class="align-center"/></a>Girls Trip: Movie Review:</b></p>
<p>Where to start with this one is difficult. I was dragged to see it by my wife. Well, I’m glad she did. “Girls Trip” is an uproarious film filled with ridiculosity, nasty comedy and excellent performances by Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish. However, Tiffany Haddish steals most of the movie's most hilarious scenes.</p>
<p>If you like to laugh, this is a film for you. It reached number one at the Box Office and acclaim for the little known Tiffany Haddish. While some critics poo-poo this film, fans said otherwise with their pocket books. In fact, many returned to see it again because they laughed over some of the dialogue.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for Shakespeare, you won’t find him here. This movie is about silliness. It does have some semblance of a story as one of the girls Ryan (Regina Hall), a best-selling author, is chosen to deliver the keynote address at the Essence Festival, in New Orleans. She invites her friends and quickly she finds out that her husband and business partner (Mike Colter) is having an affair with a younger woman (Deborah Ayorinde). From there the story takes off as the girls try to avoid trying to tell Ryan the truth about her husband but Dina can’t keep a secret and tells it all including all the details. From there the fun begins.</p>
<p>This movie is truly funny. In fact, it is hilarious. Some of the humor is strictly adult but before you can catch your breath another humorous scene occurs and takes your breath away. If you are feeling down, go see this movie. From what I thought was going to to be a chick-flick I found comedy galore and I give this movie five stars out of five stars. I almost pissed on myself! I went back to hear the parts I laughed over and nearly busted my bladder trying to hold my pee.</p>
<p><b><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/uI6CCZiempMgYlNP2mg*fiRrzcGPIOd9M2nnloxXr2dwKIdbK-x-zsQPxvuXEASJ5gqUUsUkVPEf7mVfjEzpeqTcABW7BhlL/Dunkirk.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/uI6CCZiempMgYlNP2mg*fiRrzcGPIOd9M2nnloxXr2dwKIdbK-x-zsQPxvuXEASJ5gqUUsUkVPEf7mVfjEzpeqTcABW7BhlL/Dunkirk.jpg" width="369" class="align-center"/></a>Dunkirk: Movie Review</b></p>
<p>“Dunkirk is a new Christopher Nolan movie is set in 1940, during the mass evacuation of British and French troops from northern France to the relative safety of England. Although the movie marks a pivotal turn in the Second World War with the mass evacuation of troops from Dunkirk, the movie is an exercise in boring especially one happens to know the story. Despite the bombs and machine guns, it is a retelling of a story that has little appeal and misses all the key points of making the withdrawal in the first place.</p>
<p>The key actors are easily forgettable in this dragging saga done so poorly that it seems like a college film project. It is not much of a war picture and neither is it a good suspense movie seeing the outcome is all already known. Drama? In what could have been a drama filled recounting of history this film some how managed to produce little if any. Although many critics gave this film high marks I am wondering if they slept through the film only awakening when an explosion occurred. I bought the hype and went to see it. I was highly disappointed when I left. Bluntly, it sucked! But, not to worry, I'm sure this one will receive an Academy Award nomination. If you've ever had an American history class more than likely it was vastly more exciting than this movie. The film was such a bust despite the hype it was off the major screens in less than two weeks. Only chumps like me believed the hype. It was very much the case of how religion started when the first idiot met the first con man.</p>THE DARK TOWER: MOVIE REVIEWtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-11:2182797:BlogPost:27600622017-08-11T15:00:00.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Occasionally I write movie reviews when I see one that is hyped or recommended. This one that I saw the hype and made up my mind to see it and I wasn't sorry.</strong></span></p>
<p><em>Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the last Gunslinger, is locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim (Matthew McConaughey) to prevent O'Dim from toppling the Dark Tower, the key that holds the universe together. With the fate of worlds at stak…</em></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Occasionally I write movie reviews when I see one that is hyped or recommended. This one that I saw the hype and made up my mind to see it and I wasn't sorry.</strong></span></p>
<p><em>Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the last Gunslinger, is locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim (Matthew McConaughey) to prevent O'Dim from toppling the Dark Tower, the key that holds the universe together. With the fate of worlds at stak<a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/jBiI7UieDtCgArAjusABDPK0gx6XlFNZ2-24bZUfbvFTFPMgnq*MRT2tEMzIMMUNiV4MKOj4MMCHzp60SWaJQCdL1sNTmyeg/darktower.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/jBiI7UieDtCgArAjusABDPK0gx6XlFNZ2-24bZUfbvFTFPMgnq*MRT2tEMzIMMUNiV4MKOj4MMCHzp60SWaJQCdL1sNTmyeg/darktower.jpg?width=343" width="343" class="align-right"/></a>e, the two men collide in the ultimate battle between good and evil.</em></p>
<p>Now that is out of the way it is still a quick summation of the Dark Tower written by Stephen King. Normally, I stay away from King movies because I don’t like his genre. However, as mentioned above, if you’re into gunslingers, Elba as Roland Deschain presents a heroic character as McConaughey projects pure evil.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, this a shoot’em up movie with much to recommend. If you like rapid fire gun play like cowboy movies of old, this is a movie for you complete with the requisite good guy and bad guy. Get a ticket today! </p>Adultery is a Sin?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-09:2182797:BlogPost:27597572017-08-09T03:00:00.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<div><p class="Chapter"><em><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/bF1lrVBumlBU7K7JRUNVKH9pgOhn63YpyC4Q-yp7Cm5CojzujMF26o4qZzNasoYMfoPHDmzi5pjYAjITJTUntClyW4At3IGv/BibleAdultery.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/bF1lrVBumlBU7K7JRUNVKH9pgOhn63YpyC4Q-yp7Cm5CojzujMF26o4qZzNasoYMfoPHDmzi5pjYAjITJTUntClyW4At3IGv/BibleAdultery.jpg?width=378" width="378"></img></a> “The aura of the theocratic death penalty for adultery still clings to America, even outside New England, and multiple divorces, which looks to the European like serial polygamy, is the moral solution to the problem of the itch.”—Anthony Burgess</em></p>
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<p>That adultery is a sin…</p>
<div><p class="Chapter"><em><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/bF1lrVBumlBU7K7JRUNVKH9pgOhn63YpyC4Q-yp7Cm5CojzujMF26o4qZzNasoYMfoPHDmzi5pjYAjITJTUntClyW4At3IGv/BibleAdultery.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/bF1lrVBumlBU7K7JRUNVKH9pgOhn63YpyC4Q-yp7Cm5CojzujMF26o4qZzNasoYMfoPHDmzi5pjYAjITJTUntClyW4At3IGv/BibleAdultery.jpg?width=378" width="378" class="align-right"/></a>“The aura of the theocratic death penalty for adultery still clings to America, even outside New England, and multiple divorces, which looks to the European like serial polygamy, is the moral solution to the problem of the itch.”—Anthony Burgess</em></p>
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<p>That adultery is a sin often comes as a surprise to many Christians who although carrying the title know little about the Bible or its teachings on the subject. A survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago showed that 90% of the men and 94% of the women surveyed felt that extramarital sex was wrong. However, out of that same group 25%-37% of the men and 17% of the women had been unfaithful.<a title=""><sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup></a> Obviously, there is a double standard in place or—blinders. To add more fuel to the morality fire an Associated Press survey showed that 22% of married men and 14% of married women have strayed at least once during their marriage. The poll also showed there is no appreciable difference in infidelity rates between women or men. Still, 90% of Americans believe that adultery is morally wrong.</p>
<p>Yet, the subject of adultery barely crosses the lips of the clergy who now ignore adult behavior of this type and maybe with good reason. A survey of Southern Baptist pastors by the Journal of Pastoral Care said that 14% of the pastors surveyed admitted to engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior. Nearly 50%-70% of the same pastors said they had counseled at least one woman who had intercourse with another minister.<a title="">[2]</a><sup>,</sup><a title="">[3]</a> According to Newsweek Magazine, "Various surveys suggest that as many as 30% of male Protestant ministers have had sexual relationships with women other than their wives."</p>
<p>A survey of nearly 1,000 Protestant clergy by <em>Leadership</em> magazine found that 12% admitted to sexual intercourse outside marriage. Seventeen percent of the affairs occurred with people they were counseling, and 52% involved members, ministers or other leaders of their own congregation. An additional 18% disclosed that they had kissed, fondled or masturbated with someone other than their spouse. When asked what consequences they had suffered nearly a third reported no adverse outcomes.<a title="">[4]</a></p>
<p>Three Protestant churches recently addressed issues involving sexual standards for their clergy. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church debated an amendment to its constitution, which required all church officials to be faithful in marriage and chaste if single, but so many congregations threatened to ignore the decree that delegates voted to drop the chastity requirement.<a title="">[5]</a> Recent studies reveal that 45-55% of married women and 50-60% of married men engage in extramarital sex at some time or another during their relationship.<a title="">[6]</a></p>
<p>"In all walks of life, charismatic figures exude a powerful attraction to the opposite sex. Charismatic clergy have the added aura of representing God or channeling the Holy Spirit. That is why Billy Graham, for example, decided early in his ministry never to be alone with a woman other than his wife. Few others are so meticulous. A generation ago, philandering clergy usually lost their jobs. That still happens. In an age when tolerance for adultery seeps into politics and race relations, denominations are hesitant to set too high a standard for their own. What some Protestant denominations believe is that sexual behavior is either too personal to legislate or too trivial to condemn."<a title="">[7]</a></p>
<p>Because of the secrecy involved, it is tough to get a handle on how many Americans have affairs. Estimates range from as low as 14% to as high as 70%. According to therapist and author, Peggy Vaughn, about 60% of men and 40% of women will have an affair at some point in their marriage. USA Today published a national study by the University of California, San Francisco showing that about 24% of men and 14% of women have had sex outside their marriages. Affairs affect one of every 2.7 couples, according to counselor Janis Abrahms Spring, author of After the Affair.</p>
<p>One study claims that 70% of married women and 54% of married men did not know of their spouses' extramarital activity. <a title="">[8]</a> Another study found that 2/3 of the wives whose husbands cheated had no idea of their infidelity because they failed to recognize the telltale signs. Experts say that a gut instinct is the most powerful indicator of a cheating lover. Adultery statistics state that 85% of woman who feel their lover is cheating are correct. Nearly 50% of men who feel their lover is cheating are right. The first clue is seldom obvious. Typically, it is a "feeling" that something is different.<a title="">[9]</a></p>
<p class="BookBody">One clear element in the cheating game is that women are the victims more often than men as 80 to 85% of adultery victims are women between the ages of 25 and 50 years old. Interestingly, 10 to 20% of spousal cheating begins as an Internet affair in a chat room or game website.<a title="">[10]</a> The Internet is becoming a breeding ground for adultery, or at least experts who track the patterns of extramarital affairs say so. Another interesting statistic is rarely do people have one online affair. Over 90% of those involved in cyber affairs become addicted to them and continue them dropping one person for the next as soon as the drama and excitement wear down. Approximately 70% of time on-line activities stay confined to chat rooms or sending email; of these, the vast majorities are romantic in nature. Dr. Michael Adamse, PhD., co-author of Affairs of the Net: The Cybershrinks' Guide to Online Relationships<a title="">[11]</a></p>
<p>In fact, the rate of cheating has stayed consistent, according to research expert Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey for the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Smith conducted the highly respected study “American Sexual Behavior,” a poll of 10,000 people over two decades. The study found that 22% of married men and 15% of married women have cheated at least once—similar to the results from the MSNBC.com/iVillage survey. Still, much of this depends on your definition of cheating. Nearly everybody considers sexual intercourse or oral sex to be cheating, but there are some other behaviors that fall into grayer areas.</p>
<p>Only 35% of unions survive an extramarital affair while 65% of marriages break up because of adultery. Studies also found that men are less forgiving of affairs than women. When a woman has a physical affair, she is risking her marriage more than a man who has a physical affair. Women are more forgiving.</p>
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<p> FOOTNOTES DON'T TRANSFER WELL!! ARGGH</p>
<div><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"/><div><p class="EndNoteText"><a title="">[1]</a> National Opinion Research Center, <a href="http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/">http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/</a></p>
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<div><p class="EndNoteText"><a title="">[2]</a> Probe Ministries, Adultery in the Church, November 14,1998, <a href="http://www.probe.org/docs/c-adultery2.html">http://www.probe.org/docs/c-adultery2.html</a></p>
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<div><p class="EndNoteText"><a title="">[3]</a> Models Of Flock Disappointment From American Church History: Parallels With The Duping Of The Y2K Flocks, Americanwasteland.com, January 5, 2000, D. Marty Lasley, <a href="http://www.americanwasteland.com/y2kmodels.html">http://www.americanwasteland.com/y2kmodels.html</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[4]</a> Kenneth L. Woodward, Sex, Morality And The Protestant Minister, What Sexual Standards Should The Clergy Obey?, NEWSWEEK, July 28, 1997, <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/97987">http://www.newsweek.com/id/97987</a></p>
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<div><h1 align="left"><span class="font-size-2"><a title=""><b>[5]</b></a> Sex, Morality And The Protestant Minister, Newsweek Magazine, Kenneth L. Woodward, July 28, 1997, <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/1997/07/27/sex-morality-and-the-protestant-minister.html">http://www.newsweek.com/1997/07/27/sex-morality-and-the-protestant-minister.html</a></span></h1>
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<div><h2><span class="font-size-2"><a title="">[6]</a> The New Affair Treatment Considerations, Journal of Couple &amp; Relationship Therapy, Joan D. Atwooda and Limor Schwartz, 2002</span></h2>
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<div><p><a title="">[7]</a> <a href="http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/divorcedclergy.htm">http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/divorcedclergy.htm</a></p>
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<div><p class="EndNoteText"><a title="">[8]</a> Religious Tolerance.Org, Religious Beliefs in the United States, General religious beliefs, <a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_poll.htm">http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_poll.htm</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[9]</a> The Truth About Infidelity, Who potentially commits infidelity?: Anyone!, <a href="http://www.infidelity-help.us.com/">http://www.infidelity-help.us.com/</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[10]</a> Mitchell Files Case History, Statistics on Cheating Spouses, 2001, <a href="http://shop.store.yahoo.com/eaglesnestpub/statoncheats.html">http://shop.store.yahoo.com/eaglesnestpub/statoncheats.html</a></p>
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<div><h2><span class="font-size-2"><a title="">[11]</a> Affairs of the net: The cybershrink's guide to online relationships, Michael Adamse, Health Communications, 2000</span></h2>
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</div>Silk Purses and Sow Earstag:atheistnexus.org,2017-08-01:2182797:BlogPost:27586322017-08-01T13:10:28.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p><span style="color: #808000;"><em> </em></span></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com/files/uHETS66ZfQm52NPajve8qb5BRybfafNbRNpg8swFg2BlhWDjf28ksgltIHv6fNT8b*jQmHx97NQDIChU083ttRYMtdvwhIwB/3561631_14951088385964_rId6.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://api.ning.com/files/uHETS66ZfQm52NPajve8qb5BRybfafNbRNpg8swFg2BlhWDjf28ksgltIHv6fNT8b*jQmHx97NQDIChU083ttRYMtdvwhIwB/3561631_14951088385964_rId6.jpg?width=200" width="200"></img></a> <span style="color: #808000;"><em>W</em></span><em style="color: #808000;">hen explaining Biblical contradiction Christian apologists and their explanations range from the sublime to the ridiculous. An apologist is a defender of the faith, the…</em></p>
<p><span style="color: #808000;"><em> </em></span></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com/files/uHETS66ZfQm52NPajve8qb5BRybfafNbRNpg8swFg2BlhWDjf28ksgltIHv6fNT8b*jQmHx97NQDIChU083ttRYMtdvwhIwB/3561631_14951088385964_rId6.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/uHETS66ZfQm52NPajve8qb5BRybfafNbRNpg8swFg2BlhWDjf28ksgltIHv6fNT8b*jQmHx97NQDIChU083ttRYMtdvwhIwB/3561631_14951088385964_rId6.jpg?width=200" width="200" class="align-right"/></a><span style="color: #808000;"><em>W</em></span><em style="color: #808000;">hen explaining Biblical contradiction Christian apologists and their explanations range from the sublime to the ridiculous. An apologist is a defender of the faith, the person that explains the unexplainable, that makes sense out of nonsense and guards a door with no house.</em></p>
<p>The best write concise and lucid prose cloaked by an illusion of reason and logic. As the biblical terrain becomes more difficult, the apologist's explanations have more twists and turns than a Robert Ludlum story. Such tortured bending and stretching of minutia leads to pinched frowns and up turned noses like noticing a bad smell.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com/files/uHETS66ZfQm52NPajve8qb5BRybfafNbRNpg8swFg2BlhWDjf28ksgltIHv6fNT8b*jQmHx97NQDIChU083ttRYMtdvwhIwB/3561631_14951088385964_rId6.jpg" target="_self"></a></p>
<p>The call of faith is powerful, making the blind belief of Christian adherents at least understandable, but apologists are usually highly educated in some fashion making it difficult to comprehend how the cognitive dissonance does not overwhelm them. Religious aspirations usually drop with extensive education. Yet, apologists apparently can ignore, pretend or reject obvious errors and contradictions without feeling bothered in the least.</p>
<p>It is surprising with the amount of information available today that anyone could use such convoluted thinking to shore up a book at the root of the Crusades, the Inquisition and the Dark Ages. At some point, the intellectual dishonesty must be overwhelming. On the other hand, maybe not, as some people develop immunity to reality without any awareness of anything outside their confines.</p>
<p>Sadly, the apologist becomes a maker of excuses, master of obfuscation and promoter of ancient ignorance. Part of the problem lies with the insistence of biblical inerrancy. It is impossible to take the Bible literally without putting the Christian apologist in a nearby indefensible position. For the Christian apologist, the dissonance must be deafening; if not, then they represent a clear and present danger to rational thought. </p>
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<p>They are apologists in the most literal sense--making apologies for the indefensible.</p>Eisenhower was our last legitimately elected Republican presidenttag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-29:2182797:BlogPost:27580182017-07-29T21:49:10.000ZRuth Anthony-Gardnerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RuthAnthonyGardner
<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/gop-fraud-and-treason" target="_blank">The Past 5 GOP Presidents Have Used Fraud and Treason to Steer Themselves to Electoral Victory</a></p>
<p>Ford and Bush Sr. aren't directly accused here, just the benefactors of systemic corruption. Bush Jr.'s illegitimate elevation is already widely known. The Nixon and Reagan treasonous deals with enemies surprised me.</p>
<blockquote><p dir="ltr">History suggests – even if treason can be demonstrated –…</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/gop-fraud-and-treason" target="_blank">The Past 5 GOP Presidents Have Used Fraud and Treason to Steer Themselves to Electoral Victory</a></p>
<p>Ford and Bush Sr. aren't directly accused here, just the benefactors of systemic corruption. Bush Jr.'s illegitimate elevation is already widely known. The Nixon and Reagan treasonous deals with enemies surprised me.</p>
<blockquote><p dir="ltr">History suggests – even if treason can be demonstrated – that, as long as he holds onto the Republican Party (and Fox News), he’ll survive it intact. And he won’t be the first Republican president to commit high crimes to get and stay in office. </p>
<p dir="ltr">In fact, Eisenhower was the last legitimately elected Republican president we’ve had in this country.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Since Dwight Eisenhower left the presidency in 1961, six different Republicans have occupied the Oval Office.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And every single one of them - from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump - have been illegitimate - ascending to the highest office in the land not through small-D democratic elections - but instead through fraud and treason.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Nixon promised South Vietnam’s corrupt politicians that he would give them a richer deal when he was President than LBJ could give them then.</p>
<p dir="ltr">LBJ found out about this political maneuver to prolong the Vietnam war just 3 days before the 1968 election. He phoned the Republican Senate leader Everett Dirksen – here’s an excerpt (you can listen to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbEPI_9Ju0k">entire conversation here</a>):</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>"President Johnson: </strong><br/>Some of our folks, including some of the old China lobby, are going to the Vietnamese embassy and saying please notify the [South Vietnamese] president that if he'll hold out 'til November the second they could get a better deal. Now, I'm reading their hand, Everett. I don't want to get this in the campaign.<br/><br/>And they oughtn't to be doin' this. This is treason.<br/><br/><strong>Sen. Dirksen: </strong>I know."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Those tapes were only released by the LBJ library in the past decade, and that’s Richard Nixon that Lyndon Johnson was accusing of treason.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But by then - Nixon’s plan had worked.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Behind Carter's back, the Reagan campaign <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2013/0305/Argo-helps-Iran-s-dictatorship-harms-democracy/(page)/2">worked out a deal</a> with the leader of Iran's radical faction - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini - to keep the hostages in captivity until after the 1980 Presidential election.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This was nothing short of treason. The Reagan campaign's secret negotiations with Khomeini - the so-called "October Surprise" - sabotaged Carter and Bani-Sadr's attempts to free the hostages. And as Bani-Sadr <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0622/062239.html">told The Christian Science Monitor in March</a> of 2013:</p>
<p dir="ltr">After arriving in France [in 1981], I told a BBC reporter that I had left Iran to expose the symbiotic relationship between Khomeinism and Reaganism.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><p dir="ltr">Ayatollah Khomeini and Ronald Reagan had organized a clandestine negotiation, later known as the “October Surprise,” which prevented the attempts by myself and then-US President Jimmy Carter to free the hostages before the 1980 US presidential election took place. The fact that they were not released tipped the results of the election in favor of Reagan.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And Reagan’s treason - just like Nixon’s treason - worked perfectly.</p>
</blockquote>Second Class Citizens: How the Church Contributes to Domestic Violencetag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-29:2182797:BlogPost:27578942017-07-29T02:00:00.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p><strong> <em>“One reason that men abuse their wives is</em></strong> because <strong><em>women rebel against their husband's God-given authority.” Bruce Ware, professor of Christian Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY<a title="">[1]</a></em></strong></p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/cUvOFmGRy64jvRIbPVr7H9Q1WlIzSTaPUeWudL9LvgJxKQdxHciLwGU13PpDsvr6433DDqkOE-LduTpZV5utivlAOHdU0GbT/wifebeating600.jpg" width="600"></img></p>
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<p class="BookBody">Whether a husband holds “God given authority” over his spouse is open to question, but the results of spousal abuse and domestic violence are not. Nearly one out of…</p>
<p><strong> <em>“One reason that men abuse their wives is</em></strong> because <strong><em>women rebel against their husband's God-given authority.” Bruce Ware, professor of Christian Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY<a title="">[1]</a></em></strong></p>
<p><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/cUvOFmGRy64jvRIbPVr7H9Q1WlIzSTaPUeWudL9LvgJxKQdxHciLwGU13PpDsvr6433DDqkOE-LduTpZV5utivlAOHdU0GbT/wifebeating600.jpg" width="600" class="align-center"/></p>
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<p class="BookBody">Whether a husband holds “God given authority” over his spouse is open to question, but the results of spousal abuse and domestic violence are not. Nearly one out of three American families experiences some degree of domestic violence with battery within American homes inflicting more damage on American women than rapes and muggings combined.<a title=""><i><b>[2]</b></i></a> New figures show that domestic violence is the single major cause of injury to women with almost 4 in 10 ending seeking professional medical treatment.<a title=""><i><b>[3]</b></i></a> Making matters even worse is that 4 of 10 female victims lived in households with children under age 12 and 70% of the men who batter their wives physically or sexually also abuse their children.<a title=""><i><b>[4]</b></i></a></p>
<p class="BookBody">A glance at any police blotter in the country reveals that domestic violence remains a staple for 911 calls and they often are the most dangerous. Police officers often find themselves caught in the middle of murderous violence. In domestic violence cases, women are more than 75% of the victims in more than 2,400 murders attributable to intimate partners. The percentage of female murder victims killed during domestic violence has remained steady at 30 percent since 1993, shows how little its importance.</p>
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<p class="Default"><strong>Religion’s Role</strong></p>
<p class="BookBody">Under the most liberal interpretation, treatment of women in the Bible is at best atrocious and if read word for word, the status of females crashes on the rocks of misogyny. Scattered throughout the Bible are references to treating one’s wife well, but the instances are so few they appear as nothing more than afterthoughts.</p>
<p class="BookBody">Over the years, the Christian Bible kept women from owning property, going to universities, voting and from ordained. Subjugation of women plays a key role in many evangelical excesses. Traditional gender role attitudes based on patriarchy helps explain the intervening variable linking Fundamentalism to spousal violence.<a title=""><i><b>[5]</b></i></a> “The probability of wife abuse increases with the rigidity of a church's teachings, especially teachings pertaining to gender roles and hierarchy."<a title=""><i><b>[6]</b></i></a> A large study of the Christian Reformed Church discovered the frequency of physical and sexual abuse in this evangelical denomination was about the same as in the general population.<a title=""><i><b>[7]</b></i></a></p>
<p class="BookBody">Mistreating women under religious doctrine caused former President, Jimmy Carter, to speak out against religion inspired mistreatment of women. In a statement denouncing the global mistreatment of women based on religious texts and doctrines, the former president said<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality">,</a></p>
<p class="BookBody"><i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality">“This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are preven</a></i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality"><i>ted from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. The male interpretation of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses.”</i></a></p>
<p class="BookBody"></p>
<p class="BookBody">Jocelyn Andersen, author of “Woman Submit! Christians and Domestic Violence,” suffered a severe beating by her assistant pastor husband. She argues that submission teachings do not create abusers, but allows violent men to justify their abuse as biblical. The real danger, though, is in how the teachings impact devout women, who may assume they cannot leave their marriages and remain committed Christians. Many churches “inadvertently become enlisted into the agenda of abusers” by promoting reconciliation between victims and unreformed abusers. The FBI estimates that husbands or boyfriends batter a woman in the United States every 15 seconds.</p>
<p class="BookBody">An issue of “Christianity Today” cites the book “Battered into Submission: The Tragedy of Wife Abuse in the Christian Home” by James and Phyllis Alsdurf, whose research suggests the level fundamentalism has a strong correlation with wife abuse." Fundamentalism often hampers the process of helping battered women,” according to Vicky Whipple in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.<a title=""><i><b>[8]</b></i></a></p>
<p class="BookBody">James Dobson argued in his marital therapy book, “Love Must Be Tough,” that abused women should not divorce but separate and try to change their husbands’ behavior. He also warned against women who bait men into abuse to gain the “prize” of bruises to display. In 2007, popular Pentecostal televangelist Juanita Bynum suffered a severe beating by her estranged pastor husband, Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III, during an attempted reconciliation meeting at an Atlanta hotel. Bynum made domestic violence a priority of her ministry after the attack and received condemnation as “an angry, out-of-control woman” by conservative radio preacher Jesse Lee Peterson.</p>
<p>In the United States, women account for almost two-thirds of intimate partner violence victims and about half of that abuse occurs in the victim's home. The majority (73%) of family violence victims were female. Females were 84% of spouse abuse victims and 86% of victims of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or girlfriend.<a title="">[9]</a> Husbands, boyfriends or other intimate partners physically harm more than 4 million women each year in the United States. Sadly, nearly 60% of battered women endured beatings while they were pregnant and many times hit in the stomach.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Justice found that women are far more likely victims of violent crimes committed by intimate partners than men, especially involving a weapon. Women are much more likely to fall victim at home than in any other place.<a title="">[10]</a> More than 4 in every 10 incidents of intimate partner violence involve nonmarried people.<a title="">[11]</a> One in five or 20% of dating couples report some violence in their relationship. One of five college females will experience some form of dating violence. A survey of 500 young women, ages 15 to 24, found 60% involved in a continuing abusive relationship and all participants had experienced violence while dating.<a title="">[12]</a></p>
<p class="BookBody">Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, not only hurts the women abused but also affects their overall health, their ability to earn a living, as well as their children.<a title="">[13]</a> Each year, more than 2 million children are the target of beatings by a family member.<a title="">[14]</a></p>
<p><strong>It Gets Worse</strong></p>
<p class="BookBody">In domestic violence cases, women are more than 75% of the victims in more than 2,400 murders attributable to intimate partners. Yet, the percentage of female murder victims killed during domestic violence stays steady at 30% since 1993.</p>
<p class="BookBody"> In 1995, 7% of all murder victims were young women killed by their boyfriends. In 2007, there were 1,865 females murdered by males in single victim or single offender incidents filed with the FBI for its Supplementary Homicide Findings from the report, dispel many of the myths about the nature of lethal violence against women. For instance, with identification of the relation of victim to the offender, 91% of female victims (1,587 out of 1,743) died at the hands of someone they knew.</p>
<p class="Default">The murder rated showed that 10 times as many females killed by a male they knew (1,587 victims) than killed by male strangers (156 victims). Of those victims that knew their offenders, wives or intimate acquaintances made up 62% (990) of female homicide victims.<a title="">[15]</a> Young women ages 16 to 24 are at the greatest risk for injury and death at the hands of intimate partners compared with women in all other age groups.<a title=""><sup><sup>[16]</sup></sup></a> The FBI estimates that husbands or boyfriends batter a woman in the United States every 15 seconds.</p>
<p><strong>Younger and Younger</strong></p>
<p>The recent attempt by the Republican Party to insert “forcible” into the exceptions for federally funded abortions reflects the deep-seated devaluing of women as people and considering the Evangelical Right’s connection with the GOP, even though the word is no longer a part of the bill, their influence is clear.</p>
<p></p>
<p>More than 4 in every 10 incidents of domestic violence involves nonmarried people according to a Bureau of Justice Special Report: “Intimate Partner Violence” in May of 2000. About one in three high school students report involvement in an abusive relationship. Forty percent of teenage girls aged 14 to 17 say they know someone their age whose boyfriend hit or beat them. In one study, from 30 to 50% of female high school students reported experiencing teen dating violence. Teen dating violence most often takes place in the home of one of the partners.</p>
<p>One in five or 20% of dating couples report some violence in their relationship. One of five college females will experience some form of dating violence. A survey of 500 young women, ages 15 to 24, found 60% currently involved in a continuing abusive relationship and all participants experienced violence in a dating relationship at some time.</p>
<p class="Default">Girls experience violence on the streets, in their schools, and at home. The statistics are staggering. More than half of all rapes of women occur before age 18.<a title=""><sup><sup>[17]</sup></sup></a> One study found that 38% of date rape victims were young women from 14 to 17 years old. A survey of adolescent and college students revealed date rape accounted for 67% of sexual assaults. More than half of young women raped (68 percent) knew their rapist either as a boyfriend, friend or casual acquaintance. Six out of 10 rapes of young women occur in their own home or a friend or relative's home, not in a dark alley.</p>
<p><em>Domestic violence does not only happen to adults. Forty percent of girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a <u>boyfriend,</u> and approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.<b>”</b>—Dianne Feinstein</em></p>
<div><br clear="all"/><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"/><div><p class="FootNoteText"><a title="">[1]</a> Southern Baptist Scholar Links Spouse Abuse to Wives' Refusal to Submit to Their Husbands, Bob Allen, EthicsDaily.com, June 27, 2008, <a href="http://ethicsdaily.com/print_popup.cfm?AID=10675">http://ethicsdaily.com/print_popup.cfm?AID=10675</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[2]</a> Battered Women's Shelter, Peace Begins at Home, Battered Women's Statistics for the United States, <a href="http://www.rfcram.com/bwsstatistics.htm">http://www.rfcram.com/bwsstatistics.htm</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[3]</a> Intimate Partner Violence, Callie Marie Rennison and Sarah Welchans, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of JusticeStatistics, July 14, 2000</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[4]</a> Southern Baptist Scholar Links Spouse Abuse to Wives' Refusal to Submit to Their Husbands, Bob Allen, EthicsDaily.com, June 27, 2008, <a href="http://ethicsdaily.com/print_popup.cfm?AID=10675">http://ethicsdaily.com/print_popup.cfm?AID=10675</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[5]</a> Patriarchy and Punitiveness: Spouse abuse and Protestant Fundamentalism, Rhonda Marie Fisher, January 1, 1998<b>,</b> <a href="http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=733056861&amp;Fmt=7&amp;clientId">http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=733056861&amp;Fmt=7&amp;clientId</a> =79356&amp;RQT=309&amp;VName=PQD</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[6]</a> Battered Women's Shelter, Peace Begins at Home, Battered Women's Statistics for the United States, <a href="http://www.rfcram.com/bwsstatistics.htm">http://www.rfcram.com/bwsstatistics.htm</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[7]</a> The Evangelical Scandal, Stan Guthrie, Christianity Today Magazine, 4/13/2005</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[8]</a> Biblical Battered Wife Syndrome: Christian Women and Domestic Violence, Kathryn Joyce, Religion Dispatches, February 2, 2009, <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/124174/">http://www.alternet.org/story/124174/</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[9]</a> Matthew R. Durose et al, Family Violence Statistics, Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances, Bureau of Justice Statistics, June 2005</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[10]</a> Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Incidents, 2007 Homicide Data, September 2009, Pg. 1</p>
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<div><p class="FootNoteText"><a title="">[11]</a> Religion In The News, Church, Lies, and Polling Data, <a href="http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/personnel.htm">Andrew Walsh</a>, Fall 1998, Vol. 1, No. 2, <a href="http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RIN">http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RIN</a> percent20Vol.1No.2/Church_lies_polling.htm</p>
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<div><p class="BookBody"><a title="">[12]</a> Intimate Partner Violence, Callie Marie Rennison and Sarah Welchans, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 14, 2000</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[13]</a> Janet M. Torpy, Intimate Partner Violence, JAMA Patient Page, The Journal of the American Medical Association, August 13, 2008—Vol 300, No. 6, <a href="http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/300/6/754">http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/300/6/754</a></p>
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<div><p class="FootNoteText"><a title="">[14]</a> Battered Women's Shelter, Peace Begins at Home, Battered Women's Statistics for the United States, <a href="http://www.rfcram.com/bwsstatistics.htm">http://www.rfcram.com/bwsstatistics.htm</a></p>
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<div><p><a title="">[15]</a> Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Incidents, 2007 Homicide Data, September 2009, Pg. 3</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[16]</a> Rennison, C., &amp; Welchans, S. (2000). Intimate partner violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics</p>
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<div><p><a title="">[17]</a> Tjaden, P., &amp; Thoennes, N. (2000). Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice</p>
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<p></p>BE SURE OF WHAT YOU SPEAKtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-24:2182797:BlogPost:27573692017-07-24T15:30:00.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/UuVnJs47s1R8M681*JSyqQYTGFUHDUthZH1Y3OH6GAq7NwhXu1vUrtRRvrBf416aknY452aC61BBB*8FXgfoh5-DiUQ48SIv/GodisGood.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/UuVnJs47s1R8M681*JSyqQYTGFUHDUthZH1Y3OH6GAq7NwhXu1vUrtRRvrBf416aknY452aC61BBB*8FXgfoh5-DiUQ48SIv/GodisGood.jpg?width=585" width="585"></img></a> Recently, a friend on Facebook made a brave break by positing that Christianity hangs about the necks of African Americans like a millstone and is responsible for much pain and suffering. Of course, his claim was immediately rejected and shot down with some even saying that "My Jesus would never do such a…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/UuVnJs47s1R8M681*JSyqQYTGFUHDUthZH1Y3OH6GAq7NwhXu1vUrtRRvrBf416aknY452aC61BBB*8FXgfoh5-DiUQ48SIv/GodisGood.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/UuVnJs47s1R8M681*JSyqQYTGFUHDUthZH1Y3OH6GAq7NwhXu1vUrtRRvrBf416aknY452aC61BBB*8FXgfoh5-DiUQ48SIv/GodisGood.jpg?width=585" width="585" class="align-center"/></a>Recently, a friend on Facebook made a brave break by positing that Christianity hangs about the necks of African Americans like a millstone and is responsible for much pain and suffering. Of course, his claim was immediately rejected and shot down with some even saying that "My Jesus would never do such a thing."</p>
<p>But lost in the cacophony is the realization that Jesus if his story is even true, is Jewish construct introduced in the New Testament. However, many are unaware that the stories of divine saviors such as Jesus can be found in numerous religions that existed before the Bible including crucifixions and rising from the dead.</p>
<p>Christianity did little for blacks during slavery except give their masters a rule book for the treatment and worth of slaves. It's there in the Bible. Two examples are featured in the picture that accompanies this piece. There are others. No, black churches did more for the American Negro than Christianity could ever do. Many forget or didn't know that many Africans captured and brought to this country already had religion and it wasn't Christianity. Some religions were indigenous to various tribes while others were Islamic.</p>
<p>For many slaves and even followers today, it is a psychological palliative that is very similar to meditation. Nevertheless, that reply to my friend's post particularly caught my eye because of its rank and uninformed arrogance by claiming the Bible is "so" because it is the word of God. In structured logic this is what is known as appeal to tradition or also known as an appeal to antiquity or appeal to common practice, meaning that is the way things have always been done so it must be true.</p>
<p>It can also be a logical fallacy known circular reasoning in which the person making the argument that starts when the reasoner begins with what he or she is trying to end up with. Sometimes it is also called assuming the conclusion. Or, ending at the same place they started, which as stated is also known as a circular argument.</p>
<p>Interestingly, African Americans are the most likely to have two Bibles in their home, but few could tell about the Councils of Nicea or the Council of Trent three of the most important events in compiling the Bible and its stories many of which were direct lifts from Kemetic and Babylonian sources.</p>
<p>Still, it was somewhat irritating to see a friend catch grief over their thoughts, especially in such an illogical and unreasoned fashion. Arguments don't work that way. Claims based on feelings, emotion and early life training are not sufficient. You may believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior to all, but that is not how the world works. In fact, there are a more than a billion people willing to argue the point and they would get snagged in the same traps of logic.</p>
<p>Avoid unsupported statements and don't judge another's beliefs. They may not be yours but surely they are theirs. Never use the original source as the basis for a positive argument. It's the same as saying, "Because I said so."</p>The world needs a newer, better religion. A religion based on evolutionary law.tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-23:2182797:BlogPost:27573552017-07-23T23:32:29.000ZPaul Tripphttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/PaulTripp
<p>This is the beginning of my attempt to create a religion based not on a god or gods, but on our understanding of the evolutionary forces that created us and what they can teach us about how to survive and thrive in our evolutionary universe. <a href="https://youtu.be/PdZhNSBbjaM">https://youtu.be/PdZhNSBbjaM</a></p>
<p>This is the beginning of my attempt to create a religion based not on a god or gods, but on our understanding of the evolutionary forces that created us and what they can teach us about how to survive and thrive in our evolutionary universe. <a href="https://youtu.be/PdZhNSBbjaM">https://youtu.be/PdZhNSBbjaM</a></p>A Collision at the Intersection of Islam and Feminismtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-22:2182797:BlogPost:27569072017-07-22T18:30:00.000ZPaul Tripphttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/PaulTripp
<p>My article on Islam, Feminism, and how incompatible they are just got published by the Alt Left Journal. See it here: <a href="https://altleftjournal.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/islam-and-feminism/">https://altleftjournal.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/islam-and-feminism/</a></p>
<p>My article on Islam, Feminism, and how incompatible they are just got published by the Alt Left Journal. See it here: <a href="https://altleftjournal.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/islam-and-feminism/">https://altleftjournal.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/islam-and-feminism/</a></p>Campaigning: Take Back Our Countrytag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-20:2182797:BlogPost:27567502017-07-20T13:51:29.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While campaigning I had a group (8-10) of protesters at my rally saying all sorts of things, which is their right. However, when they came to shouting “Take Back Our Country” I was deeply offended but I didn’t show it. Instead, I gave them a history lesson about “our”’ country starting with the genocide of Native American Indians through slavery. My trail is already difficult and my chances of winning are an…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While campaigning I had a group (8-10) of protesters at my rally saying all sorts of things, which is their right. However, when they came to shouting “Take Back Our Country” I was deeply offended but I didn’t show it. Instead, I gave them a history lesson about “our”’ country starting with the genocide of Native American Indians through slavery. My trail is already difficult and my chances of winning are an even chance but the protests talking about taking back our country particularly irked me. It is not wise to lose one’s temper in a political battle because they opponent can use it to say you don’t have the proper temperament to serve in any elected office</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My trail is already difficult and my chances of winning are an even at the best but the protests talking about taking back our country particularly irked me. It is not wise to lose one’s temper in a political battle because the opponent can use it to say you don’t have the proper temperament to serve in any elected office despite your qualifications and experience. Rather than stoop to that level, I developed a short film addressing taking back our country. I am posting it just to show there is more than “our country” that meets the eye.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://youtu.be/YUg_mkvW87Q" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/YUg_mkvW87Q</a></p>A Never-Ending Battle?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-12:2182797:BlogPost:27558932017-07-12T13:00:00.000ZLoren Millerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/LorenMiller
<p><i>I have no illusions that there’s an endgame. These problems never go away. You have to educate every single generation about this and make sure it doesn’t creep back into our society. There’s no sense in which the job is ever done.</i><br></br> -- Tim Gill<br></br> <br></br> Just for the record, Tim Gill is a software engineer and rights advocate, who has been an integral part of the thrust for LGBTQ equality. His influence spans from the 2003 <i>Goodridge v Dept. of Public Health</i> case to the…</p>
<p><i>I have no illusions that there’s an endgame. These problems never go away. You have to educate every single generation about this and make sure it doesn’t creep back into our society. There’s no sense in which the job is ever done.</i><br/> -- Tim Gill<br/> <br/> Just for the record, Tim Gill is a software engineer and rights advocate, who has been an integral part of the thrust for LGBTQ equality. His influence spans from the 2003 <i>Goodridge v Dept. of Public Health</i> case to the triumph which was <i>Obergefell v Hodges</i>. This is a man who has put his own sweat and treasure, to the tune of several hundred million dollars into this fight, yet judging by the above quote, he is not at all resting on his laurels. Indeed, quite the contrary.<br/> <br/> Considering the parallels which have been drawn multiple times between the gay rights movement and the drive for secularism in government, state / church separation and atheist rights, I have to wonder if we as atheists aren’t in the same boat. It is alleged that, 100 years ago, Robert Green Ingersoll and those with whom he worked thought that they had the battle won, that Christianity had been neutralized as a political force in the United States and that those who argued for religion-free government could relax. The past century and certainly the time since Ronald Reagan’s inauguration have made a lie of that thought, and with the advent of Donald Trump and his catering to the Christian right, gains we have made in the eight years under former President Obama threaten to be rolled back, along with gay rights protections, those for the environment, and too many other important issues.<br/> <br/> Gill’s quote forces me to ask: is there an endemic element of … what? Stupidity, bigotry, a determined attitude of “I’m better than you are” in the human genome which will persist despite cultural and societal influence? Being an engineer and not a sociologist, I haven’t the expertise to offer an informed answer to that question. Nonetheless, the patterns we see in recent history make a strong suggestion that this may, in fact, be the case. While the cause of atheism may not be so far advanced as the gay rights movement has become, the continued resistance to issues such as crosses on public property, prayers in government meetings, and the teaching of religion-inspired pseudo-science in public classrooms, despite longstanding judicial sanctions, is indicative both of the Christian privilege which has been too often assumed in US society and their determination to maintain its entrenched position there. It is entirely possible that we are engaged in a nationwide game of Whack-A-Mole: remove one cross at one town hall and a plaque with the 10 Commandments shows up in another in a pattern which could go on endlessly.<br/> <br/> The only hope which we might hold out against this state of affairs is the continuing growth of irreligiosity and the decline in numbers of those who believe. Those who at minimum have let religion slide by the boards, if not boldly come out as atheists, are now estimated to number at over 20% of US population, while the count of Christian Protestants dropped out of the majority three or four years ago. It is conceivable that their recent behavior is the equivalent of Cheyne-Stokes breathing, signaling the death throes of the Christian state. At some point or other, a paradigm shift may occur, where religious influence ceases to be the persistent problem we currently face and reason begins to assert itself as the more prevalent attitude in public life and conduct, whether that regards alternative sexuality rights or issues of faith versus fact.<br/> <br/> It would be great to see that day come, but I can’t help noticing that Tim Gill continues to gird his loins, anticipating more fights against the LGBTQ community. Much as I hate to say it, for the moment, I think we need to do the same.</p>I Haven't Croakedtag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-11:2182797:BlogPost:27558622017-07-11T18:50:29.000ZDonald R Barberahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/drbarbera
<p>I've been so busy trying to get new Congresspeople elected for the 2018 elections that I haven't come past. I have a bunch of stuff I want to drop out here for opinions and reactions. I'm also busy running for City Council. I call it working from the inside. I will start again in a few weeks.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Don</p>
<p>I've been so busy trying to get new Congresspeople elected for the 2018 elections that I haven't come past. I have a bunch of stuff I want to drop out here for opinions and reactions. I'm also busy running for City Council. I call it working from the inside. I will start again in a few weeks.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Don</p>The Ten Commandments of Common Sensetag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-10:2182797:BlogPost:27554472017-07-10T02:00:59.000ZJennifer Millerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/JenniferMiller
<ol>
<li>Thou shalt not need to fear a god or gods to practice morality. Were you raised by wolves or something?</li>
<li>Okay this jealous god shit was more important than thou shalt not rape, thou shalt not beat and/or molest children, thou shalt not bully sexual partners, thou shalt not fuck relatives or beasts; and thou shalt not enslave? But yeah, don't buy a fucking Hari Krishna incense burner thingamajig because your god thinks it's worse than fucking the dog.</li>
<li>What kind of god…</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Thou shalt not need to fear a god or gods to practice morality. Were you raised by wolves or something?</li>
<li>Okay this jealous god shit was more important than thou shalt not rape, thou shalt not beat and/or molest children, thou shalt not bully sexual partners, thou shalt not fuck relatives or beasts; and thou shalt not enslave? But yeah, don't buy a fucking Hari Krishna incense burner thingamajig because your god thinks it's worse than fucking the dog.</li>
<li>What kind of god gets offended by words? The big pussy in the sky wasted another commandment on his royal butt-hurt. What kind of trailer park god is okay with your son also being your nephew and would rather whine about what people think of his ass like an internet drama queen? Fuck your easily butt-hurt god. Was that lightning striking me down for blasphemy? Nope, false alarm.</li>
<li>Sabbath day is now "having fun with family days" because you worked your ass off the other five days. Stop dragging your poor family to sit on hot pews on your days off. Go to the park and enjoy the weekend. Do you really need religion as an excuse not to be worked to death?</li>
<li> Honor your entire family. Mom and dad, spare the rod. Children, no doing any Melendez type shit. No going JOSH DUGGAR on your siblings. Thoughts such as, "I hate my DNA, I hate my DNA" is a clue to stop breeding.</li>
<li>Wow, you need a god to tell you not to murder. What neighborhood do you live in? I want to avoid walking through it.</li>
<li>If you aren't monogamous, don't drag any unwilling participants into your lifestyle.There are people who live monogamous lifestyles and people who do not. Have some empathy for a person who wants to live a monogamous lifestyle. You can start with loving yourself by telling anyone you're on a date with; this is who I am, and I want it open.</li>
<li> Are you surprised stealing other people's stuff is wrong?</li>
<li>Screw the Sabbath day. Do you need religion to not be overworked 7 days a week instead of 5 days a week? Are you enjoying the days off you worked so hard to get sitting on a hot, hardwood bench hearing a preacher rant for hours? Family days in the park will make your children happier and healthier, and you too.</li>
<li>Are you coming on to your neighbor's wife? If he busts your face, you only have yourself to blame.</li>
</ol>How to transform our Irrational Societytag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-09:2182797:BlogPost:27548172017-07-09T04:51:22.000ZV.N.K.Kumarhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/VNKKumar
<p>There might be many ways of doing this, but my way is this. Forget some of the older people whose ideas are ossified &amp; calcified. Let them wallow in their delusions as long as they are happy in their illusory world. But catch hold of your children, grandchildren at an impressionable age and do the following:</p>
<p>- To counter worshiping god(s) to fulfill their desires, teach them that human beings are capable of fulfilling their desires by their own honest effort. If desires are…</p>
<p>There might be many ways of doing this, but my way is this. Forget some of the older people whose ideas are ossified &amp; calcified. Let them wallow in their delusions as long as they are happy in their illusory world. But catch hold of your children, grandchildren at an impressionable age and do the following:</p>
<p>- To counter worshiping god(s) to fulfill their desires, teach them that human beings are capable of fulfilling their desires by their own honest effort. If desires are unfulfilled, tell them that either their goals are beyond their capabilities or they have not given 100% of their efforts to achieve those goals.</p>
<p>- To counter worshiping god(s) to protect them from evil, teach them that we humans are quite capable of protecting ourselves from evils that befall us. Teach them that all evils (bad events and problems) have clearly identifiable causes. However some Natural evils (earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes) can happen randomly and are beyond our control. Nothing can be done about them. Whatever we humans could not understand we attributed it to gods and this saved much wear &amp; tear on the brain tissues. But now we know better.</p>
<p>- To counter people’s irrational faith in ancient, fruitless religious rituals as the solution for their life problems in the 21st century world, teach them that the world has changed a lot over the past three thousand years and the problems of the modern world need more thoughtful, practical, scientific and result-oriented solutions.</p>
<p>- To counter people’s belief that their birth class distinguishes them as superior or inferior to people of other birth classes ( Viz., the aryan arrogance of Hitler &amp; the Nazi cult, the whites like KKK treating blacks as cattle, Casteism in Hinduism), teach them that all people share the same ancestry originating in East Africa &amp; the same DNA regardless of their birth class, skin/eye colour, hair texture and other superficial stuff, and one’s conduct is all that matters in society.</p>
<p>- To counter people’s blind belief in the sanctity of ancient scriptures such as the Vedas, Brahmanas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita or Bible or Koran, teach them that these scriptures are of historical interest only and written down by our ignorant ancestors who thought that the earth was flat &amp; believed in a geocentric universe, didn’t know about ‘Germ theory’ of diseases, worshiped rain god, forest god, fire god or sun god &amp; thought that diseases are caused by evil spirits. To appease these gods many Mesoamerican sects (Mayan, Aztec) resorted to human sacrifice. Hence most of what these scriptures contain is utterly irrelevant to managing life in the modern world.</p>
<p>- To counter xenophobia &amp; the lack of tolerance for other religions, teach them that what is important is what people do with their lives and how useful they are to other human beings and not what they believe in the privacy of their own minds. Since no child can choose his/her parents and parents in all good intention invariably indoctrinate their children into their own religion to teach them proper values, no child after growing up can be held responsible for his/her religious beliefs. If we were born to their parents, we would have similar beliefs. So tolerance for different belief systems is to be cultivated as long as the people following them do not harm us. But if they go the Al Qaeda/ISIS/Boko Haram way, we need not keep quiet.</p>
<p>- To counter the excessive obsession with death &amp; afterlife that is prevalent in the religious zeitgeist today, teach them that you don’t get to choose how you are going to die or when. You can only decide how you are going to ‘Live Now’. Instead of ‘Life after death’, we should be more concerned with ‘Life before death’. No point in foregoing your current comforts &amp; pleasures (as long as they do not hurt others) or expend time, energies &amp; money (the tithe system) in the church for some imaginary benefits in the afterlife. This doesn’t mean that you don’t give to well deserved charities.</p>
<p>This is as far as I can think. The readers may have other useful ideas to convert this dystopian society into an utopia!</p>
<p> </p>One reason for atheism is coming into contact with a variety of religions.tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-07-08:2182797:BlogPost:27547892017-07-08T09:50:57.000ZV.N.K.Kumarhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/VNKKumar
<p>It isn’t unusual for an atheist to have been raised in a religious household and to have grown up living with the assumption that their religious tradition represented the One True Faith. However, after learning more about other religious traditions, this same person may adopt a much more critical attitude towards his own religion and even religion generally, eventually coming to reject not only the religion but also belief in the existence of any gods.</p>
<p><strong>My own…</strong></p>
<p>It isn’t unusual for an atheist to have been raised in a religious household and to have grown up living with the assumption that their religious tradition represented the One True Faith. However, after learning more about other religious traditions, this same person may adopt a much more critical attitude towards his own religion and even religion generally, eventually coming to reject not only the religion but also belief in the existence of any gods.</p>
<p><strong>My own experience </strong><br/>In my younger days, when I was in St. John's Boarding School in Ranchi, India, I was surrounded by Jesuit priests and they never wasted a second without reminding me of the ludicrous aspects of Hinduism, viz., the monkey faced demigod cum superman called Hanuman who could fly over the ocean like geese and carry a mountain on his forefinger, an elephant headed Ganesh riding on a mouse, a ten headed demon called Ravan, a goddess called Durga with 8 pairs of hands &amp; a four headed Brahma who is supposed to have created the universe. Same time they didn't forget to drive home the point that Christianity was much saner.</p>
<p>Much later however, I discovered some ludicrous aspects in Christianity as well. Christians are not stupid, but they sure are gullible. Either that, or they have absolutely no common sense when it comes to using logic to analyze their beliefs about the invisible magic guy who gives them their wonderful morals in support of genocide, slavery, subjugation of women, cruelty toward others, and even the stoning of children.</p>
<p>When I had grown up, I posed the following questions to some of my Christian friends who were flummoxed by them:</p>
<p>• Why did the Christian God have to make Eve from a rib, instead of making her from clay (as he did for creating Adam) or simply snapping his fingers and saying abracadabra?</p>
<p>• Why did the Christian God instruct Noah to make an ark, when the Christian God could have just as easily slaughtered all the people on Earth with a magic stroke of his hand? (Wouldn’t that have made his existence less doubtful instead of having to account for the crazy logic problems the ark creates?)</p>
<p>• Why did the Christian God have to create a son to be tortured on the cross as himself, in order to save his own creations from his own wrath?</p>
<p>• Why did the Christian God bother to create distant galaxies millions of light years away that humans will never know about or experience?</p>
<p>• If a boy gets hit by a meteor while walking to school, did the Christian God launch or know about the launch of the meteor and its trajectory thousands of year ago? If the Christian God did know about the meteor, wouldn’t he have had thousands of years of advance knowledge to move the boy out of the impact zone? Was “God’s plan” to launch that meteor all those millennia ago to kill the boy or does the Christian God simply work in mysterious ways?</p>
<p>Either way, the boy died and the Christian God either knew about the boy’s death for centuries or allowed it to happen without saving him.</p>
<p>Those Christian friends were tongue-tied but fortunately they didn't take offense since they were not fundamentalists. So our friendship survived. It occurred to me that Logic and Christianity have no common ground. Same with my Hinduism.</p>
<p><strong>My conclusions</strong><br/>I realized then that all religions were mere fairy tales and have no correspondence whatsoever with reality. All of them claim to be the only true religion but they are so contradictory to each other. I decided that if all of them cannot be true, all of them can certainly be false.</p>
<p>Have you ever wondered why there are so many religions ( Anthropologists say that there are right now 4200+ living religions in the world, around 20 of which are major religions) telling us about the secrets of the universe, life and man but there is only one Universal Science which does the same?</p>
<p>Simply because regarding any one concept, truth can only be one but there can be many lies.</p>
<p><b id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499476616393_10397"> </b></p>Atheist Mary Kay Consultant working to make a differencetag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-23:2182797:BlogPost:19790332017-06-23T18:30:00.000ZStephanie Morenohttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/stephaniealexander
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"> I have been in Mary Kay cosmetics for 8 years now and when i originally wrote this blog i had been in for 3 years. I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home. I have been an atheist for about 6 years now and have become LESS frustrated... i was VERY frustrated in the beginning of this change of life....i will leave the rest as it was 6 years ago and update at the end!…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"> I have been in Mary Kay cosmetics for 8 years now and when i originally wrote this blog i had been in for 3 years. I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home. I have been an atheist for about 6 years now and have become LESS frustrated... i was VERY frustrated in the beginning of this change of life....i will leave the rest as it was 6 years ago and update at the end!</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">(Growing up only knowing religious people has made this transition hard for me but more so in my business. I had to change my weekly meetings because my director is too preachy. It never used to bother me, but the moment I came to understand that there is no god, etc. is the moment things started to make me angry....</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"> I contemplated leaving Mary Kay cosmetics, but i love this company and what it truly stands for, which is enriching women's lives but i think its more of enriching people's lives because we now have men consultants. For this reason, I felt that yes it's true that this company was founded in texas by religious people, that Mary Kay Ash was a fundamentalist and that the majority of the people in this company are religious, BUT it is still a company, a business. Private or Not. I am going to let myself leave this amazing opportunity because its only for religious people? That is so insane. I have determined that I am not going to let that difference stop me. Yes it is an annoyance, but i feel that in life we have to learn to deal with people. Most of the world is religious and even though that doesn't mean i have to talk or get along with religious people, i would rather not isolate myself. Plus, many people today are questioning faith and maybe me sticking it out will open someone's mind? Not sure but its worth a try.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"> I have concluded that I am going to be a proud Atheist and Humanist while still being a Mary Kay consultant. Many of the mary kay friends know and although they may not agree, they are respectful. I have not heard yet of any sales director or national sales directors that are Atheist, nor any that are bisexual/lesbian. So, since i love this company, i am going to take a stand and work to be a Atheist/humanist, bisexual, Mary Kay director and national director. This company could use a good mind blower and i think its time someone showed them this company is not just for adults with imaginary friends! Can u imagine? A successful National Atheist Director in Mary Kay?! That is a huge statement being made to the religious community and i think its high time its done. ) </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">^ How i USED to think...</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">6 years later...</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">I am a 5 year breast cancer survivor, I have a booming Mary Kay business, and with setbacks of Chemotherapy and surgeries i am very close to our first Mary Kay car and Directorship with the company!! I am married to the man who stuck by my side through cancer and we lost our faith together. So many people have emailed me over the years asking for help with their business. In these 5 years i have learned a LOT. Let me begin by saying this is a personal BUSINESS. It is simple. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">That being said, you can CHOOSE who trains you and your trainer decides if they want to train you. There are no have to's in life only want to's. Do I get annoyed with training sometimes and how many people are so religious in the company? Yes. Do i let it get to me anymore? NOPE. Why? Because i know that non theists are the 3rd largest group in the world now, plus the company has made things more secular.. if you haven't noticed, and because i know now that my success doesn't depend on my lack of religion or affect it in any way. There are 2 things that will make you successful in this business.. Here is the secret.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">#1 stop giving a crap what others think. This is a business, its math, there are formulas.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">#2 Follow the formulas, throw out the religious wording, learn the meat and potatoes and your on your way.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">That's it. The hard truth is that people are going to say what they want and feel how they feel and although it may hurt your feelings, you need to understand that none of that matters. The only way it matters if someone is harassing you or going out of their way to seclude you from learning or activities making you feel alone. If you do not want to do the work and forget the haters, then this will not work for you. You have to be willing to gain the confidence to work regardless of what people think of you and that goes for anything in life. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">I have had people say horrible things to me and i have ALSO met Top Directors plus my National Sales Director that adopted me into her area who train me with open arms and have apologized on behalf of anyone who said crap to me. My National is a Christian. She believes the way she does and she also thinks to believe you need god to be successful in Mary Kay, is a joke. That business is just business. Don't get me wrong. The woman is a 2 time national best selling author and has been an Evangelical Christian for a long time but she is very cut and dry. She will tell you she wont apologize for her religion and she will tell you if you don't like it, you can leave. ...and she would ask you hold your convictions the same. She is never disrespectful and made me fully understand what i am capable of. Her national was secular until her death bed, which means a National who was friends with Mary Kay the lady, respected Mary Kay and Mary Kay in turn respected her. I also have a top director friend who earned her first Pink Caddy 6 months into the business as a secular individual. So don't sit there on your laptop and tell me this can't be done. You just have misinformation about the company or the people who taught you about this business had some horrific experience. </p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">There will be people who read this post that just want to complain how their director doesn't agree with them, there will be people who blame Mary Kay for allowing religion in their company..oh all the sorts of people i have heard from. The people this blog is for.. are not for the butt hurt people who quit this business because they asked 3 of their friends and family and after they said no.. they said it doesn't work. ...</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">this blog is for the people who genuinely believe in this company and how it can help society. This is not just makeup or skin care. Please understand it is people and love.. not profit and loss. Please understand there is room for all of us to win, not only some. Please understand that life is not fair and those who understand that and are willing to rise up anyways are the ones who deserve success in all areas of their life. </p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">My hope is that this brings you HOPE and the confidence to say. SCREW whoever wants to project their insecurities on you, your going to do this. If you feel you want to contact me, find me on my website and i will connect you with my national and as soon as i'm a director you can be in my go give area. Thank you.</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">-Future Cadillac Sales Director Stephanie Moreno</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="color: #ff00ff;"><span style="color: #000000;">My motto is</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00ff;"> <span style="font-family: arial black,avant garde;">You dont have to believe in god to be successful in life. You do the work anyways, just give YOURSELF the credit for once in your life!</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00ff;"><span style="font-family: arial black,avant garde;"><a href="http://www.marykay.com/salexander61508" target="_blank">My Mary Kay website</a></span></span></p>Made Up Storiestag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-11:2182797:BlogPost:27517942017-06-11T00:03:35.000ZRichard M. Thomashttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RichardMThomas
<p>I've been talking to my mom about a med change for my wife, and how I can convince the doctors to put her back on certain meds that work. My mom says my dad was given a shot to help him, but it in fact it turns out that it made him really sick and took and month to recover. That next month, the doctor wanted my dad to take another shot. My parents explained to the doctor that the shot had made him sick, like he had had the flu, but the doctor, my mom said, was determined it was the right med…</p>
<p>I've been talking to my mom about a med change for my wife, and how I can convince the doctors to put her back on certain meds that work. My mom says my dad was given a shot to help him, but it in fact it turns out that it made him really sick and took and month to recover. That next month, the doctor wanted my dad to take another shot. My parents explained to the doctor that the shot had made him sick, like he had had the flu, but the doctor, my mom said, was determined it was the right med and didn't want to admit that he was wrong, for giving him something that made my dad sick, that is. </p>
<p>Well, the point is, the doctor finally made the changes, but he didn't really want to do this. Now this is in the field of science! Medical science nonetheless, but science. Now think of all those Christians here in America who would sulk up at even the mention of the thought they are incorrect in assuming the existence of a 3 part supernatural being called God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.</p>Make believetag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-10:2182797:BlogPost:27518332017-06-10T23:19:08.000ZRichard M. Thomashttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RichardMThomas
<p>Isn't it good that we, as atheists, understand that none of the Judaeo-Christian/Islam religions are true; in fact, that no religion is "true." What a discovery we have made! </p>
<p>Isn't it good that we, as atheists, understand that none of the Judaeo-Christian/Islam religions are true; in fact, that no religion is "true." What a discovery we have made! </p>Are the Religious Entitled to Special Treatment?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-09:2182797:BlogPost:27515782017-06-09T22:04:50.000ZRichard E. Wackrowhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RichardEWackrow
<p>I think not.</p>
<p>Further, religious "moderates" and "liberals" have enabled our creeping theocracy.</p>
<p>See: <a href="http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B">http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B</a></p>
<p>I think not.</p>
<p>Further, religious "moderates" and "liberals" have enabled our creeping theocracy.</p>
<p>See: <a href="http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B">http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B</a></p>Are the Religious Entitled to Special Treatment?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-09:2182797:BlogPost:27516892017-06-09T22:04:43.000ZRichard E. Wackrowhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RichardEWackrow
<p>I think not.</p>
<p>Further, religious "moderates" and "liberals" have enabled our creeping theocracy.</p>
<p>See: <a href="http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B">http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B</a></p>
<p>I think not.</p>
<p>Further, religious "moderates" and "liberals" have enabled our creeping theocracy.</p>
<p>See: <a href="http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B">http://bit.ly/2rrlw6B</a></p>Dreaming of Utopia while a Dystopia prevailstag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-07:2182797:BlogPost:27514442017-06-07T08:21:19.000ZV.N.K.Kumarhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/VNKKumar
<p><strong>THE UTOPIA I DREAM OF </strong></p>
<p> 1. Imagine a world where 99% of the population is voluntarily atheistic - where rampant belief in supernatural (SN) agency is not socially supported. Where the political leaders do not invoke the names of deities at the conclusion of speeches or use the blessings of such deities in justifying state-sponsored wars and the captains of competing cricket teams, when asked whether their team will win the game, will not feel compelled to say "Insha…</p>
<p><strong>THE UTOPIA I DREAM OF </strong></p>
<p> 1. Imagine a world where 99% of the population is voluntarily atheistic - where rampant belief in supernatural (SN) agency is not socially supported. Where the political leaders do not invoke the names of deities at the conclusion of speeches or use the blessings of such deities in justifying state-sponsored wars and the captains of competing cricket teams, when asked whether their team will win the game, will not feel compelled to say "Insha Allah, we will win" or "Hail Mary, may victory be ours" "Jai mata di, we should win" or "Jai Bajrang Bali, we are sure to win", " Jai Dwarkadish/ Jai Sairam may our team win" ad infinitum ad nauseum.</p>
<p>2. Imagine a world in which natural disasters, accidents, illnesses &amp; death are viewed as unfortunate but normal blips in a fairly lawful universe, and not as evidence of SN vengeance or intervention.</p>
<p>3. Imagine a world where people routinely accept the fact that some events lie outside their control. They make no attempt to invent SN agents, who can be persuaded to intervene on their behalf.</p>
<p>4. Imagine a world where the large majority of humans lead moral lives because of personal or social codes, not because they fear SN retribution.</p>
<p>5. Imagine a world where one's identity is not so "tribal" that hatred &amp; violence against "out-group" members ( on the basis of religion or nationality) can be readily triggered by pandering preachers or politicians.</p>
<p>6. Imagine a world in which humans accept that they have a finite life span. That after death, one's body ceases to function and begins to decompose. That while one may be lovingly remembered for past deeds, the days as an active agent, mentally &amp; physically, will be over. Thus no soul, no afterlife, no heaven, no gods!</p>
<p>Can you imagine any of these ?</p>
<p><strong>THE DYSTOPIA IN REALITY </strong><br/> Certainly, it is a task for the imagination because very little of it is true today. I view each of these things as stepping stones toward human improvement. 60k years is hardly time enough to alter fundamental things about the nature of the species, unless that species has the life span of a fruit fly.</p>
<p>There has been far more technological changes in human history than changes in our human genome. We still go to war with a regularity that makes it clear that fighting &amp; killing "outsiders" is fundamental to our nature. Conflict over territory or resources still triggers battle. Disagreement over SN belief systems is still reason enough to kill.</p>
<p>What a mess religion has created for humanity!</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion: </strong><br/>Perhaps someday the majority of humans will not see patterns that are not there nor turn to SN agents when control seems out of their reach. But that day is not yet on the horizon. Arguably it would require such fundamental changes that we may be looking at a different species, in the same way that Homo-erectus &amp; Australopithecus were a different species of humans compared to The Neanderthal &amp; Homo sapiens. But I &amp; you wouldn't be on the scene to see all this.<br/>......................................................................................................<br/><strong>Post script :</strong> I was inspired by John Lennon's poem :</p>
<p><strong>IMAGINE THERE'S NO HEAVEN</strong></p>
<p>It's easy if you try<br/>No hell below us<br/>Above us only sky<br/>Imagine all the people living for today</p>
<p>Imagine there's no countries<br/>It isn't hard to do<br/>Nothing to kill or die for<br/>And no religion too</p>
<p>Imagine all the people living life in peace<br/>You, you may say<br/>I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one<br/>I hope some day you'll join us<br/>And the world will be as one</p>
<p>Imagine no possessions<br/>I wonder if you can<br/>No need for greed or hunger<br/>A brotherhood of man</p>
<p>Imagine all the people sharing all the world<br/>You, you may say<br/>I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one<br/>I hope some day you'll join us<br/>And the world will live as one.</p>Living beyond your Lifespantag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-07:2182797:BlogPost:27514422017-06-07T08:17:30.000ZV.N.K.Kumarhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/VNKKumar
<p>When people learn that I'm a secular humanist, one of the most frequent questions they ask is, "What do you believe happens after death?"</p>
<p>So that there's no confusion, let me make my position on this clear. I don't believe that there is any such thing as a soul/mind/atma that survives the death of the body. I believe that the mind is a physical process, arising from and produced by the activity of the brain, and so when the body ceases to function, the mind ceases as well. Thus, I…</p>
<p>When people learn that I'm a secular humanist, one of the most frequent questions they ask is, "What do you believe happens after death?"</p>
<p>So that there's no confusion, let me make my position on this clear. I don't believe that there is any such thing as a soul/mind/atma that survives the death of the body. I believe that the mind is a physical process, arising from and produced by the activity of the brain, and so when the body ceases to function, the mind ceases as well. Thus, I don't believe in an afterlife of any sort – no heaven, no hell, no reincarnation. I see no reason to believe that death is anything other than the permanent and total cessation of consciousness, no different than an endless, dreamless sleep.</p>
<p>It's a very common opinion that this view necessarily leads to despair – that if our lives are finite, then we are without hope and all that we strive for is futile. I can see why some people might think this. Of all the living things on this planet, human beings are the only ones able to imagine the future. And while this ability has blessed us with wonderful gifts, it has also cursed us with the certain knowledge of our own mortality. It is of course frightening to envision one's own death, which is why so many people seek to escape it. Although religion has taken full advantage of humanity's death anxiety and created the concepts of soul, afterlife, immortality, heaven &amp; gods, it did not create it.</p>
<p>But I think these fantasies, comforting though they may be, are unnecessary. I think there is another way to face up to death, one that does not need the consolations of an afterlife. This article will deal with the prospect of death and how an atheist philosophy can give us comfort.</p>
<p>Belief in Heaven encourages people to fix their gaze on a fantasy, to try to look beyond this world in the hope of seeing something more. And when people do that, they inevitably overlook the valleys of pain and darkness in this world, learning to think of them as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Worse yet, this belief will always produce those who believe in this otherworldly "something more" so fervently as to consider life itself to be meaningless in comparison – and it is this way of thinking that has directly caused so much suffering and destruction [ISIS/ Al Qaeda/ Boko Haram].</p>
<p>But atheists take a different view. We do not believe that there must be something more. We do not believe that this life needs a sequel to make it all worthwhile.</p>
<p>In fact, we know that the absence of an afterlife is what gives this life its meaning, since it gives us the strongest possible motivation to live this life to the fullest, to make of it what we will and fill it with purpose and joy. After all, if we neglect the duty to help others, we will never have a chance to make it up to them; if we squander this opportunity, we will never get another one.</p>
<p>There are many ways of achieving immortality for non-theists:<br/>1. Through descendance<br/>2. Through inheritance<br/>3. Through deeds<br/>4. Through remembrance<br/>5. Through Organ Donation</p>
<p>Descendance. In children and grandchildren, our genes, fused with those of our partner, live on. There is nothing quite like seeing the family resemblance in a child's face, for realising the continuity of the generations and feeling one's embedded involvement in the process of life.</p>
<p>Inheritance. Almost everyone who has accumulated any degree of wealth or property likes to pass some or all of it on to their children or relatives.But even the not-so-well-to-do have some possessions that are unique to them- a school prize, a medal, a drawing/ painting, a diary, or some collection like a stamp collection or book collection even though they might be tattered.</p>
<p>Deeds. The third form of real afterlife comes about through our actions and creations whose impact persists after our death.Not only for writers and artists trying to leave immortal works behind them, but even a single act of kindness may be recollected for decades after our death.A life of loving care by some mothers will be remembered by those it touched for as long as they live. The trees we plant now will provide shade and beauty for generations.</p>
<p>Remembrance. Our only afterlife and immortality is in the lives and minds of those who survive us. And our only hell is in their memories, too. If we are unkind or egotistical towards other people, they won't feel sorry when we die. They may even say " good riddance ". If we hurt them seriously, they will remember us, not with love and nostalgia, but with hatred and rancour.</p>
<p>Organ donation<br/>One definite way in which we can live beyond our lifespans is by donating our organs (Heart Valves, Lungs, Liver, Pancreas, Kidneys, Skin &amp; Eyes) to others. This is possible only when our brain is dead. [In the case of normal death, none of the organs can be harvested except eyes].</p>
<p>Some causes of brain death include :<br/>• Trauma to the brain (i.e. severe head injury caused by a motor vehicle crash, gunshot wound, fall or blow to the head)<br/>• Cerebrovascular injury (i.e. stroke or aneurysm/Hemorrhage)<br/>• Anoxia (i.e. drowning or heart attack when the patient is revived, but not before a lack or blood flow/oxygen to the brain has caused brain death)<br/>• Brain tumor</p>
<p>Brain death is death. It should not be confused with Coma. A patient who is in a coma or persistent vegetative state typically has some brain stem function (which controls breathing) and possibly other brain function. When a person is brain dead, no part of the brain is functioning any longer.</p>
<p>But you will have to tell your family members who survive you (your spouse, children) to implement the organ donation wish of yours.</p>
<p>End Note<br/>Even if we are life-long bachelors and have no kids, even if we leave no legacies, even if we have not accomplished anything memorable in life &amp; even if we have a lurking suspicion that people may not retain fond remembrances of us after our death, an Organ donation contract (even if it is just our eyes) will over-compensate for all this lacuna and give us some kind of immortality &amp; meaning in life, the thought of which should give us quite a bit of satisfaction when we are alive.</p>Morals without Religiontag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-05:2182797:BlogPost:27509682017-06-05T00:36:07.000ZRichard M. Thomashttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RichardMThomas
<p>I met with a pastor the other day. It was in response to a critique I sent him of his sermon. I'm sure he's probably never received such a thing:) He was civil and polite though and replied by saying "Thanks for the feedback!" My concern was him preaching that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Now, I know it is a lot of things and people are real sensitive to it, but the truth is that there are errors, as I have learned from the wonderful evangelical Christian turned atheist, Dr. Bart…</p>
<p>I met with a pastor the other day. It was in response to a critique I sent him of his sermon. I'm sure he's probably never received such a thing:) He was civil and polite though and replied by saying "Thanks for the feedback!" My concern was him preaching that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Now, I know it is a lot of things and people are real sensitive to it, but the truth is that there are errors, as I have learned from the wonderful evangelical Christian turned atheist, Dr. Bart D. Ehrman about this very thing. The Bible is filled with errors: additions, deletions, variants, contradictions, etc. Well, I let the pastor know this, and I told him that I know that they learned this in seminary school because Dr. Ehrman let the cat out the bag, so to speak. Pastor Sean did admit that there are errors as far as copy errors, but that's as far as he was willing to go. Anyhow, I agreed that it can be the "inspired" word of God. But what is inspired mean? The New Testament is written in Greek, and Jesus spoke Aramaic.</p>
<p>So we played around with these ideas some. But then he told me that you can't have morals without the Bible, morals without religion that is. I simply told him that that is not true, you can. I am an example of it. My parents are without religion, but have plenty of integrity. My Mom's mom, my Grandma Pat is a Christian. But my Dad's mom and dad were not religious, though. My family never really talked about religion growing up. My younger brother became Pentecostal and my older brother, I think he's agnostic, but he's never told me so.But the point is, all of my nuclear family was without religion and the Bible for all of my childhood and we turned out to have good morals. I don't think it is right to discriminate against us atheists, saying we don't have morals. That's the way I took it anyhow. I think we can all get along though. But I will continue to correct the evangelical Christian when I get the chance. I just wish I knew more about ethics. I took an ethics course in college. But I mean know about how people like Plato and Aristotle shaped our ethics, and the lesser known philosophers. So any recommended readings y'all have I'm up for them. In general though, I can say as a layman that there are moral people without religion and the Bible. I know right from wrong. Now my mental illness has caused me to do the wrong thing in the past, thinking it was right. But that is a different story. That's called insanity. But i have regained my sanity fortunately. Thanks to all y'all atheist:)</p>
<p></p>Holy Books – All Things to All Peopletag:atheistnexus.org,2017-06-01:2182797:BlogPost:27505122017-06-01T13:00:16.000ZLoren Millerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/LorenMiller
<p><i>These are puzzlements!</i><br></br> -- King Mongkut of Siam (allegedly)<br></br> <br></br> How is it that Christianity and Islam are both sources to claims of peaceful intent and despicable savagery? Jesus Christ is regarded by some as the “Prince of Peace,” yet the religion bearing his name spawned the Crusades, the Inquisition, the usages and practices of the <u>Malleus Maleficarum</u>, and too many other atrocities to count. Muslims worldwide declare that Islam is “a religion of peace,” yet…</p>
<p><i>These are puzzlements!</i><br/> -- King Mongkut of Siam (allegedly)<br/> <br/> How is it that Christianity and Islam are both sources to claims of peaceful intent and despicable savagery? Jesus Christ is regarded by some as the “Prince of Peace,” yet the religion bearing his name spawned the Crusades, the Inquisition, the usages and practices of the <u>Malleus Maleficarum</u>, and too many other atrocities to count. Muslims worldwide declare that Islam is “a religion of peace,” yet violent organizations from Al Qaeda and the Taliban to the Islamic State do not blink when they associate themselves with Islam and assert that Muhammad himself would approve of what they do. The contrasts and contradictions could not be more glaring if they were rendered in midnight black and bleached white, not just begging but screaming for an explanation. As with many such things, the explanation is at once simple and not so simple and may be found in both cases by going back to the source.<br/> <br/> The problem with Islam is the same problem with Christianity – a foundation which can be read to get anything out of it the reader wishes to get, which is to say, their respective holy books. Both the bible and the quran can be painted with the same brush as it comes to this and followers of either book cherry-pick in similar fashion to reinforce mindsets already established in their own heads. When the practitioners of both these religions can have the courage to acknowledge that their source material is seriously flawed, self-contradictory, and in need of revision, I'll feel like genuine progress is being made. Sadly, the only ones who seem to be doing so to this point are those who have abandoned their faiths for atheism.<br/> <br/> David Silverman said it in his book, <u>Fighting God</u>: “All religion is cafeteria religion,” and the evidence backs up his claim. If a believer’s natural inclination is toward peace, verses or surahs which speak of peace, goodness, and universal brotherhood are easily found. If their bent is toward conflict, us vs. them, and war, there is no shortage of quotes available to support their position. Thus these holy books become all things to all people. All that is necessary to complete the process is a touch of willful ignorance of the other side of the coin. Jesus’ admonition about being neither hot nor cold in Revelations appears to get no traction here either, though really no one should be surprised. Those dedicated to a given side in this business are less than likely to acknowledge the validity of the other:<br/> <br/> <i>A man hears what he wants to hear, <br/>And disregards the rest.</i><br/> -- Paul Simon, “The Boxer”</p>My Christian Wifetag:atheistnexus.org,2017-05-30:2182797:BlogPost:27504722017-05-30T12:14:23.000ZRichard M. Thomashttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RichardMThomas
<p>It is difficult sometimes for me since I am an atheist and my wife is a devout evangelical Christian. We met 7 years ago Sunday, and she asked me when we first met if I was “saved.” I told her I had been, thinking I was. As it turns out I wasn’t. What happened was one day I went to church with a friend of mine’s mom. At the time I was pretty much homeless and her and her husband were letting me stay with them temporarily. I went to church with my friend’s mom, and at the end of the service…</p>
<p>It is difficult sometimes for me since I am an atheist and my wife is a devout evangelical Christian. We met 7 years ago Sunday, and she asked me when we first met if I was “saved.” I told her I had been, thinking I was. As it turns out I wasn’t. What happened was one day I went to church with a friend of mine’s mom. At the time I was pretty much homeless and her and her husband were letting me stay with them temporarily. I went to church with my friend’s mom, and at the end of the service the preacher asked if there was “anyone here who has not accepted Jesus as their personal lord and savior.” I raised my hand, not realizing that I would be asked to come down and ask Jesus to be my lord and savior in front of the whole church! Well, out of fear I did, thinking I had no choice. Later when I met my wife and she asked me if I was saved I told her yes because I thought I had been saved since I had went through the ritual of it, not knowing that what she considered saved was “accepting Jesus into your heart.” Now I realize that I should have clarified things when I first met my wife, but that’s in the past and I can’t change that now. Thus, when we got married I agreed to go to church with her and I have.</p>
<p>Eventually, out of fear again and pressure from my wife I got baptized. Being the coward that I am sometimes, in order to get baptized I got high on dextromethorphan, the drug that is in Robitussin. My wife didn’t know this, but eventually I told her. So to counter the intoxicated blasphemous baptism, I got baptized again sober. I got saved again, but this time also I feel it was out of ritual. The pastor asked everyone to come down and recite a prayer and I did, and then got baptized. I went to church and studied my Bible and became to believe, if not on just a superstitious level. But in time I heard a sermon over gematria, which is just numerology and superstition. So what little faith I had began to crumble at that point.</p>
<p>I quit going to church, but a couple of years later, after a separation from my wife, and after telling her I am an atheist, I went back to church. This was about four months ago. Since then I read a book, a couple of books that is, by Dr. Bart D. Ehrman. He is an evangelical preacher Biblical scholar turned atheist. He explains how the Bible is not “the inerrant word of God,” but a human book with human errors. The Bible comes from an oral tradition and wasn’t even written down until 30-40 years after Jesus, and the Gospels weren’t even written by the authors attached to the books (the disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Biblical scholars know this, most of whom are Christian; and the preachers learn this in seminary school, but the evangelical Christian preachers like the one’s at the church my wife and I attend know this, though they don't "believe it.". So I took it upon myself to email the pastor and his brother who also preaches and tell them that they are incorrect in telling people the Bible is the inerrant word of God, that it has errors, and that they should know this. Also I told them that their telling my wife this was causing her and I problems. I feel my wife is coming around, but there is probably no hope for the pastors. I have received a response and anticipate that I will talk to them about this in person soon. I wonder what they think knowing now that they have an atheist in their church.</p>
<p>Anyway, that’s my story for now, will update you as things develop. </p>Why are the religious folks disturbed by non-believers?tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-05-23:2182797:BlogPost:27499252017-05-23T13:50:28.000ZV.N.K.Kumarhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/VNKKumar
<p>I was wrong. I used to think that ignorance of the scientific origins of the universe, life and mankind was behind the faith of the believers. And I used to recommend to my fellow atheists &amp; Secular humanists that they should read the introductory literature on cosmology, astrophysics, evolutionary biology, anthropology &amp; Evolutionary psychology so that they can convince the believers of the natural causes of origins (Universe, Life &amp; Man) &amp; hence persuade them to stop…</p>
<p>I was wrong. I used to think that ignorance of the scientific origins of the universe, life and mankind was behind the faith of the believers. And I used to recommend to my fellow atheists &amp; Secular humanists that they should read the introductory literature on cosmology, astrophysics, evolutionary biology, anthropology &amp; Evolutionary psychology so that they can convince the believers of the natural causes of origins (Universe, Life &amp; Man) &amp; hence persuade them to stop believing in these imaginary gods.</p>
<p>But I have now discovered that it is not so simple.</p>
<p>Realize what it is you do when you attack religion. Contrary to what it seems, you are actually not attacking somebody’s view of how the universe, life &amp; man came to exist. In my experience most believers like my beloved wife Prema, are not that curious about how the universe happened, whether it was produced by the Big Bang, by some Gods or by the fart of some giant cosmic turtle. As long as they are here, alive and kicking and full of hope, all is well.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Fear of Death &amp; Oblivion</strong></span><br/>What you are actually telling them when you criticize their religion and the existence of their God is that they will not survive their own death. You are proposing another model in which they die into nothingness at the end of the story. This is totally unacceptable to them. Each time I hear scientists talk about God and the universe or the absence of God in the universe, it’s always to debate how the universe started. Never to wonder whether or not ‘little me’ will survive my own death.</p>
<p>A believer’s problem is not so much “no God, no universe” but “no God, no soul, no afterlife, I fade to eternal blackness, end of the party, my party”. What you attack when you attack people’s God is not a God that created a universe. You attack the God that will give them eternal life. What is at the center of religion is really the survival, forever, of the believer. No religious person would worship a God who created a universe in which humans did not have a soul that survived death.</p>
<p>That’s why religion is always off limits for discussion. You can argue as much as you want about astrophysics and how the universe came into being. But you simply can’t go around telling people that they don’t have a soul that survives death and that they will end into nothingness.</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Need for community &amp; social support</span></strong><br/>Also, despite their differing creeds, all religions are alike in that they give their adherents a sense of community, of belonging, and of identity: a social support structure, if you will. Atheists have nothing comparable, and this is easily interpreted as a statement that people may not need the structure of religion to survive in this world.</p>
<p>This is what angers and upsets believers who encounter atheists. They have devoted so much of their lives to their support structure, and their identity is so intimately bound up with it, that meeting a person who needs none of those things is naturally threatening to them, because it suggests that all their effort was unnecessary, even wasted. And from there, it is only a small step to the conclusion that atheists must think them deficient in intelligence not to have seen the better way, if there is one.</p>
<p>In my experience, even people who care nothing for dogma and doctrine, who disagree with their religious leadership on virtually every issue, often react with anger or incredulity to the suggestion that they leave their religion, because they have been brought up in it and participated in it for so long that it has become an indispensable part of how they see themselves.</p>
<p>This hypothesis explains why believers are generally not offended by the existence of other believers: even if two groups of theists differ drastically about their actual beliefs, each can see that the other group provides its members with the same kind of social structure that their own religion provides them. In its way, this is a tacit affirmation that belonging to religious groups is normal and desirable and is how human beings are meant to live, and therefore reassuring.</p>
<p>But the existence of atheists threatens to wreck this whole gentleman's agreement, and so it is no surprise that theists mistrust and fear us. They are offended and angered not so much by what we say or do, but by what we represent.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>End Note</strong></span><br/>So it is not the lack of literacy in the above cited scientific domains that creates gullible believers but lack of self-reliance, inquisitiveness &amp; the raw courage to face life's vicissitudes and its trials &amp; tribulations without the help of sky daddies &amp; mommies. All these traits become a part of our personality if we were lucky enough to have had parents who encouraged us to be curious &amp; didn't discourage our questioning, nurtured a sense of self-esteem &amp; self-reliance in us and didn't discourage independent thinking. But the sad reality is that most parents are too preoccupied with their own careers, health issues &amp; interpersonal conflicts to be role-models for their kids. Hence the limited number of contrarians in our society and the proliferation of credulous believers!</p>Happiness and Success. A perspective from North Korean defectors.tag:atheistnexus.org,2017-05-16:2182797:BlogPost:27491702017-05-16T17:14:20.000ZDaniel Whttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/Daniel57
<p>I was watching this video series, which contains interviews with defectors from North Korea. These people underwent ordeals similar to the Underground Railroad, except they were leaving mental enslavement and starvation in North Korea, for the uncertainty of freedom, first as illegal immigrants in China, then ultimately to South Korea where they were welcomed with open arms. What do they day about happiness?</p>
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<p><a href="https://youtu.be/EhmzpMP3bEE?t=706" target="_blank">This…</a></p>
<p>I was watching this video series, which contains interviews with defectors from North Korea. These people underwent ordeals similar to the Underground Railroad, except they were leaving mental enslavement and starvation in North Korea, for the uncertainty of freedom, first as illegal immigrants in China, then ultimately to South Korea where they were welcomed with open arms. What do they day about happiness?</p>
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<p><a href="https://youtu.be/EhmzpMP3bEE?t=706" target="_blank">This link</a> takes you to the topic of happiness. I'll embed the entire video below.</p>
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<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EhmzpMP3bEE?ecver=1&amp;wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>"Even when I was starving in North Korea, I was happy". </p>
<p>"I actually feel sorry for them [South Koreans]. They lose out on the most important things. Like happiness, love, relationships etc."</p>
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<p>I found it compelling to listen to what they said. These people went through incredible privation and suffering, both during their lives in North Korea, and in their journey to where they are now, a society that is much more free, successful, technologically advanced, economically vibrant. They would not go back. But they note the price, which is that the more successful society is not as happy.</p>
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<p>Then I thought about my own life. I went from a rural and small town world, where my horizons were very limited, to two doctorates and a corporate life, in search of having a life that was both meaningful, and secure. Growing up, I wasn't happy, but my family was, and many people around me seemed happy and satisfied with their lives. I knew I had to leave, and I did. I never cared about "winning", or about accumulating riches, but I knew that if I fell on hard luck, no one would help me. In fact, at one point, that happened, and it was my own stubbornness, work ethic, resourcefulness, and bootstraps, that kept me going. Ultimately, ,career was stopped by cancer. However, by then, I was able to retire with benefits, and things are as secure as one can expect. I am fortunate. Other than the sense of losing meaning - which is somewhat false meaning - I am happier. None of the corporate dysfunction, back stabbing, credit theft, incessant ambition, lies, demands, and my own daily anger and sometimes, near panic. I miss many things, the sense of accomplishment, and collegiality - also often false - and the sense of being someone who mattered, but in retrospect, those things exacted a harsh toll. Now, I have cancer to thank for stopping me, and forcing me to live a simpler life, moving the scale from the sense of day to day corporate oppression, to much more happiness than I had before.</p>
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<p>Last year, one of my colleagues, 10 years younger than me, died of a rare and rapidly advancing cancer. Similar to my own, except in my case, I'm lucky to have a medicine that holds it in check. She also made the careerist decision, and won, but in the end, did she find happiness? I don't know. She won't get a second chance, and neither will I. (<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-miserable-mean-bosses-20170511-story.html" target="_blank">article in Chicago Tribute about mean bosses</a>, who are possibly miserable. To be honest, I think some of my mean bosses were too sadistic to be miserable)</p>
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<p>I would never claim that poverty brings happiness, or that one shouldn't strive for a better life, even if it means sacrificing some happiness along the way. In fact, I know that often, even usually, poverty is misery. But it think it's good, sometimes, to think about the choices that we make, the changes that are forced upon us, and the price of security, fortune, and success.</p>
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<p>p.s. the Youtube series for that video, Asian Boss, has interesting insights on North/South Korean life, and on what Koreans think about Americans. Worth watching.</p>
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